'How to be green? Many people have asked us this important question. It's really very simple and requires no expert knowledge or complex skills. Here's the answer. Consume less. Share more. Enjoy life.' Penny Kemp and Derek Wall

28 Sep 2014

I thought people might like a short report of today's demonstration for Kobane and against ISIS.

Don’t let Kobane fall!

On Sunday 28 September 1000 or so people marched from Angel Edmonton
through Haringey to the Kurdish community centre off Green Lanes to
protest against the siege of Kobane, and the silence of the
international community over the blatant military support of the
Turkish state for the ISIS fighters who are besieging the Kurdish town
of Kobane in Northern Syria. Most of the people on the march were
Kurdish from Turkey; there were also contingents from the Turkish left.
Stephanie and Sarah took the Haringey Left Unity banner. The march went
down Fore Street and Tottenham High Road and Philip Lane, West Green
Road to Green Lanes. Slogans in Kurdish, Turkish and English included:

Unite against ISIS!

Long live the Kobane resistance!

Long live YPG[1] <#_ftn1> !

Who beheaded American journalists? ISIS.

Who has been killing Kurdish and Assyrian women and children? ISIS

Speakers called for an end to the silence over Turkey’s role in
supporting ISIS. People in the streets gave a friendly reception to the
march, and many took pictures.

[1] <#_ftnref1> (the
People’s Protection Units who are defending Kobane, where there are
several hudred thousand people including refugees, and who in August
rescued thousands of Yezidis from the ISIS assault on Shengal in
northern Iraq).

27 Sep 2014

Kurds will march from Angel Corner, Edmonton to Haringey on Sunday
28th Sept. 2014 from 1pm to condemn ISIS attacks on the city of Kobane,
Northern Syria (Western Kurdistan) and ask for the support of the UK
public and government

ISIS gangs have been attacking the city of Kobane since 15th September
2014. They have been beheading and kidnapping civilians in the villages
they have laid siege to. Over 160,000 people have been displaced, most
of them fleeing across the border to Turkey, where they are being
attacked by Turkish soldiers, with one Kurdish civilian being killed by
soldiers on the 26th and two being wounded.

Today is the 12th day of attacks on Kobane. ISIS is using heavy
artillery, tanks, missiles and US military technology to bomb the city.
Despite the brave resistance of Kurdish fighters, unfortunately they are
being overpowered by the superior military capability of ISIS. To add
to this the AKP government of Turkey are still turning a blind eye to
ISIS and hoping to create a buffer-zone in Northern Syria. This will
mean an illegal occupation of Kurdish controlled areas and will further
intensify the human suffering.

Kurds across Europe and the world are protesting against an imminent
genocide by ISIS, similar to that of the Yazidi Kurds in August. The
lives of over 300,000 people is under threat in what will be another
human tragedy.

We, as the Kurds of the UK will be engaged in democratic protests to
condemn ISIS terror, Turkey’s policies and raise awareness and ask the
UK public and government to recognise and support the Kurds of Rojava
(Western Kurdistan) by providing weapons and humanitarian aid as well as
diplomatic support.

We ask the international and UK media to continue bringing to attention
the situation in Kobane, Kurdistan and the Middle East, and what is
being done against ISIS in the UK.

According to new information, the situation in Rojava, Kobani, is even
more serious than previously thought. It is the difference between Kurds
holding onto their freedom currently in Syria to Kurds losing control
completely and facing a genocide on a scale possibly not seen in the
History of the Kurds. This will inevitably impact the Kurds in all parts
of Kurdistan.

We are calling upon Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan. Bakur, Başur,
Rojhilat and Rojava to gather in Unity to protest against ISIS
terrorists and to call for the UK government to send both humanitarian
and arms to Kurds in Rojava.

Please bring as many people as you can. Our turnout must be in thousands.

It is very important that Kurds UNITE and stand TOGETHER on Wednesday 24th September.

This is the TIME and day to UNITE and stand SHOULDER to SHOULDER with KURDS from all parts of KURDISTAN.

[Agricultural societies commonly have a custom of shared labor for a common goal. Among the peoples of the Andes, this is known as minga. Opposite the editorial in the present issue of LuchaIndígena is a letter from Manuel Rozental and RaúlZibechi, announcing the initiation of a financial campaign in support of the magazine. The goal in the present period is to assure a regular supplement of US$1600 per month, mostly through "solidarity subscriptions" from comrades in sympathy with our purposes. There follows a consideration of possible ways of organizing the minga for the long term. This latter question is still under discussion. The editorial is a comment on this very welcome development. Translator's note]

The comrades working at LuchaIndígena are deeply grateful for the militant efforts of our sisters and brothers in other parts of the world. We are united by the struggle of the oppressed to turn back the attack of the transnational corporations that rule the world. This is an attack on humanity and our environment. We are in resistance against the economic and political system imposed by the transnationals through their many servants. These servants include the great majority of the world's governments with their armies, police forces, judiciaries, news media, etc.

We network with our sisters and brothers by means of the internet, through skype sessions and at international meetings such as the recent one in defense of water and life in El Tambo, Cajamarca.

They value the effort that we began in 2006 and have continued through 97 monthly issues in which we deal with national and international concerns. Furthermore, they understand that our main shortcomings have economic causes. For this reason, they have initiated a minga (or minka) -- a collective action for collective benefit -- for us in the form of a funding campaign in support of our work.

We have urgently needed an office in Lima, and with the first fruits of this campaign we now have it. Although it is not yet fully functional, given how little we can afford for rent, it is a decided step forward. We are now in the process of setting it up and expect to be ready to sell our magazine and pamphlets there by 7 September. Naturally, the office will be available to those who wish to meet and exchange views on how the oppressed can struggle in defense of water and life, how we can defend ourselves against the thousand attacks undertaken by the ruling class to crush the oppressed. The objective of these attacks, undertaken with both legal and illegal means, is the accumulation of ever greater wealth in the rulers' hands.

The office is situated in the old section of Lima at Miguel Alijovin 347 near the Palace of Justice.

With the help that is on the way, we are hopeful of opening offices in yet other parts of the country.

In addition to the magazine, we have published many pamphlets on various questions in the struggle. Naturally, with this financial aid we will be able to expand what we are doing. As it now stands, it pains us that we must pass over in silence reporting on many of the assaults and the resistance to them for lack of space. We hope in future to increase the number of pages of LuchaIndígena without raising the price.

When this is a reality, we will be able to open regular columns devoted to the different forms of struggle, written by comrades with close personal knowledge. With gratitude and great respect, we look forward to incorporating them into our modest staff.

We call on all our readers to join in building and extending this fine minga for LuchaIndígena.

21 Sep 2014

The
Green Party of England and Wales are active in the campaign against
fossil fuels. Here, Derek Wall - their International Coordinator -
explains the role the Green Party has taken in the fight against
fracking.

The message at the heart of Green Party of England and
Wales work on climate change is to stop extracting ever more coal, oil
and gas. It is vital to expand renewables but to prevent runaway climate
change we need to contract carbon based fuel. This is why our party
views fracking as so dangers. Fracking has a range of ill effects and
associated problems but, above all, it is a source of CO2 emissions. The
current British government is embarking on a fracking frenzy, tax cuts
are being given to frackers and there are plans to make it possible to
frack in national parks. While an English person's home may in theory be
their castle, frackers will be allowed to frack under other peoples
property without permission.

The Green Party of England and Wales has been campaigning
strongly against fracking. Our Member of the European Parliament for the
South East England region, Keith Taylor, has been a long term opponent
of fracking. He has used the European Parliament to challenge the
practice. In Sussex the local community of Balcombe were faced by
exploratory drilling which they feared would lead to fracking and used
non violent direct action to protect their beautiful countryside. Many
Green Party members took part in the Balcombe anti fracking camp. Our
Member of the national Parliament Caroline Lucas took part in a protest,
sitting in the road and was arrested. She was found not guilty and
drilling at Balcombe was stopped after the company involved withdrew.

Fracking is one element of a large problem of extreme
energy with governments unconcerned about climate change finding new and
dangerous sources of fossil fuel to exploit. In Britain, while other
political parties including the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, UKIP
and Labour support fracking, we in the Green Party oppose it. Our
opposition is full spectrum: we fight to win elections to legislate
against it, we support non violent protest and we spread the word about
fracking.

19 Sep 2014

Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) statement, 17 September, 2014
Stop the ISIS attacks on Kobanê
Stop the continuing arms supplies to ISIS from TurkeySolidarity with Western Kurdistan (Rojava)
The Middle East continues to resemble a tinderbox. The barbaric
organization ISIS increasingly terrorizes the entire region. Apart from
attacks on Kurdish regions in Northern Iraq, where ISIS repeatedly
massacres Kurds (especially Êzîdîs), Christians, and Turkmen -Mosul and
Tikrit have already been captured-, ISIS has resumed attacking the
Kobanê region in Northern Syria since mid-September in the most brutal
ways. The region had already been targeted by the terror organization in
the summer of this year. By 18 September 2014, already 21 villages had
to be evacuated due to ISIS attacks, forcing thousands of people to
flee. If the Kobanê region falls under ISIS control, more massacres with
thousands of deaths and hundred thousands of refugees will be
inevitable.

Rojava as a democratic model in the Middle East

Kobanê is one of the three cantons in Rojava (Western Kurdistan/
Northern Syria), in which autonomy was declared in November 2013 under a
democratic constitution with the participation of all religious and
ethnic groups. The creation of grassroots-democratic self-governance
structures in Rojava pose a democratic alternative for the entire Middle
East, beyond nationalist, religious fundamentalist, patriarchal and
capitalist foundations. For the protection of these democratic gains,
the defence forces of the cantons in Rojava formed a joint military
front with different combat units belonging to the Free Syrian Army, the
Burkan El Firat alliance, in order to collectively fight against ISIS
in Kobanê.

Turkey supports ISIS

The democratic model in Rojava is a thorn in the side of terror groups
such as Al Qaeda, Jubhat al Nusra, and IS, as well as to regional and
international forces. According to news reports, military equipment was
transported via train across the Turkish-Syrian border and taken by IS.
There have already been reports in the past about Turkish support for
ISIS in their attacks on Rojava. This obvious support by the AKP
government, which has increased its own military presence near the
border to Kobanê, happens right in front of the eyes of the
international public.
While the attacks of the terror militia IS in Iraq and South Kurdistan
at the beginning of August of this year were observed and condemned with
great urgency, the attacks of this same terror organization on Rojava
have been totally ignored.

We call on the international public to break its silence in the
face of these brutal attacks on Rojava. The international powers have to
make sure that Turkey ceases its blatant support for the organization
of the Islamic State.
Without stopping the support for IS from such states, IS cannot be adequately defeated.
The fight against ISIS cannot be selective and regional, but must be global, united and determined

Urgent appeal to the world – Stop the brutal attacks by ISIS in KobanePress StatementSince 15 September the Islamic State has been carrying out the heaviest attacks yet on the Kurdish population of the Canton of Kobanê in Rojava (Western Kurdistan). Weapons delivered by Turkey are being used as well as weapons looted during the recent violent sweep through North Iraq. Representatives of Kobanê report that the weapons are being delivered from Turkey to the Islamic State by train. The AKP government is openly supporting these attacks by ISIS before the eyes of the world. Furthermore, an increased presence by the Turkish army is visible on the border with Kobanê.

Up to the time of writing (15.00 hours, 18.09.2014), 21 villages have had to be evacuated because of the attacks, and thousands of people have been forced to flee to the town centre of Kobanê.

If the attacks go on for too long, there is a danger that Kobanê will fall under the control of ISIS. The consequence would be the massacre of thousands of people, and hundreds of thousands would have to flee. At this moment an international alliance against ISIS is being discussed, and in this context we call on the world to break its silence about ISIS’s brutal attacks, and the international community must ensure that Turkey ends its open support of the Islamic State.

18 Sep 2014

This was agreed in May but seems a good day to repost!KURDS FOR AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND On 18 September 2014, the Scottish people have an opportunity to determine their own future as an independent country in a free vote. The choice that they make in this independence referendum will influence the lives of future generations. Furthermore, the result will have a profound impact on the fortunes of peoples throughout the world – the Kurds included - who hold similar aspirations to take greater control of their own lives and who are seeking to determine their own futures.

At stake are not borders, national flags or emblems, but whether free people have the right to decide their own futures in a democratic state. It is for this reason that the Kurds will be watching closely the vitally important developments unfolding in Scotland over the next few months.

The Kurds, involved in their own historic national struggle for respect and recognition as a people, see democratic autonomy as forming the basis of a new relationship between themselves and their neighbours whereby all peoples in their region are treated as equals.

The Kurds in Kurdistan have been expressing a resounding ‘Yes’ in increasing numbers to the strategy of deepening democratisation. In Southeast Turkey and in Rojava in Syria in particular the Kurds have been taking greater control of their destinies in a democratic process that they regard as ultimately unstoppable.

The Scottish people have the right to choose independence and build a strong, new relationship between Scotland and the rest of the UK. This is what a ‘Yes’ vote essentially means; the alternative is to remain within the old structure of the centralised British state where all key decisions influencing their lives and livelihoods are taken in the Westminster Parliament. If the Scottish people have the courage to vote ‘Yes’ they will start to construct a new partnership of equals with the rest of the British Isles.

The Kurdish community in Britain, through their representative civil society organisations across the UK, recognise the historic significance of the coming referendum in Scotland. As such, we would like to express support for ‘Yes’ vote and believe that an independent Scotland will improve the lives of the people considerably.

Independence for Scotland will not only strengthen democracy in Scotland itself but help re-energise the democratic process in the rest of Britain also, where the implementation of neo-liberal economic restructuring, gross social inequalities and an interventionist foreign policy have inflicted great suffering on people everywhere.

Right across the world, nations of people without an independent state to call their own are taking power and asserting their rights to determine their own futures in different ways. In Catalunya and the Basque Country in Spain, in Kurdish Rojava in Syria, and elsewhere in Europe and beyond, the peoples that were long shunned as a ‘minority’ governed by majority rule, are declaring their right to self-rule in ways that are most appropriate for their own specific situations. A ‘Yes’ vote in Scotland will inevitably make a profound contribution towards the successful resolution of this historic process.

11 Sep 2014

Chris
Rogers attempts to describe contemporary capitalism, to suggest that it
is inevitably crisis ridden and that an alternative is needed. He also
describes various alternatives to capitalism. This is a relatively short
and admirably clear book. It provides a good introduction to political
economy and Chris to his credit summarises much interesting material,
much of which will be new to readers, with considerable economy. I have
two general criticism, though. First, the book is ambitious but at 170
pages too concise. This means that many important topics are ignored,
for example, the ecological ill effects of capitalism are ignored and
discussions of topics such as Marx's conception of crisis are far from
exhaustive. My second criticism is political, while he clear wishes to
end capitalism, his perspective via the autonomist Marxism of John
Holloway, seems inadequate to do so.

Chris Rogers
provides a very solid critique of attempts to build a reformist
anti-capitalism using the state and of revolutionary Leninism. I agree
that an alternative to capitalism must be a process not an outcome or a
utopia, we will have to build to create something that works without
crisis. Yet the alternative of a bottom up, apparently spontaneous
movement can also be criticised. Rogers is inspired, like Holloway, by
the Mexican Zapatistas who built their own self-organised community
rather than seeking to become an electoral alternative, taking over the
Mexican state. Yet the other alternative of taking state power and using
it to make change, one thinks of Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba, seems to
have had more material effect than the Zapatistas who have been rather
marginalised and repressed. The point clearly is that so far political
alternatives seeking to over come capitalism, in a capitalist world,
where the rich and the powerful retain power, have either been
marginalised or deformed. Rogers' criticisms are relevant but his
alternative conception seems, while attractive and far too vague.

A
more sustained discussion of the weaknesses and strengths of the Latin
America left would have been valuable. The sometimes antagonistic
relationship between states and social movements should be acknowledge
however Latin American left governments have generally been both
propelled by social movements and indigenous and provided them with more
space to create communities and experiments.

Anti-capitalism
demands communal ownership, the idea that property is either private or
state, can safely be discarded. Elinor Ostrom produced a detailed
study in 'Governing the Commons' of 'commons'. She examined where
communal ownership worked and where itfailed. In doing so far from
creating a blueprint, she came up with research that might be used to
help commons work better. Chris Rogers briefly mentions commons but
might have benefitted by looking at her work.

Nonetheless
while it is possible to criticise Rogers book, none of us have clear
answers to the question of growing alternatives to capitalism, in his
clear and cogent book, he makes us think more deeply but how to bring
about change. In provoking thought and showing that capitalism is a
human construct and we humans can build something better, he should be
applauded.

9 Sep 2014

Very pleased this was passed by over 2/3rds at Green Party conference on saturday we also had packed meeting on Gaza

"Conference
condemns Israel's ground invasion, aerial and marine bombing of Gaza,
and calls on Green Party and Green Party elected representatives to take
what steps they can to put existing Green Party policy into action and
to ensure that the underlying causes are addressed, acknowledging there
can be no lasting peace without justice.

Such steps include:

·Reiterating our calls on the UN, the EU and the US government to ensure that Israel complies with international law;

·Supporting these calls by active participation in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. This
campaign aims to put pressure on the government of Israel to end the
Occupation and to give equal rights to Palestinians. The campaign asks
individuals, organisations, councils and governments to refuse to deal
withcompanies and institutions identified as facilitating Israel's military capacity, human rights abuses or illegal settlement activity.

·In
particular to demand that the UK government halts all joint Israeli/UK
military co-operation and approval for all arms sales to Israel."

8 Sep 2014

I had a very conference, as well as running a session on Ostrom and the commons and chairing Gaza/Palestine, I also chaired a session with speaker about the plight of Christians in Iraq/Syria and two Kurdish speakers.

Green Party members listened intently to Dr Alan Semo, representative of the main political party in Rojava, the Democratic Union Party.

I learnt that via Jenny Jones and London MEP Jean Lambert, the Green Party has had a long standing relationship with Kurdish political organisations.

Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, whose sister Party Dr Semo represents in the UK, has read the works of social ecologist Murray Bookchin.

4 Sep 2014

In May this year, 20 year old Martin Hadfield, committed suicide after being
rejected for over 40 jobs. He had refused to accepted benefits and felt a
failure.

£1.5 million is being slashed from Kew's budget with a loss of 120
jobs. Austerity has led to a host of other environmentally damaging cuts
from reduction in funding for bus routes to reduction in various forms of
environmental protection.

For Richard Seymour austerity is about restructuring our society rather than
cutting deficits. With higher debt in the past, record low interest on
government bonds that makes it relatively painless to finance debt, there are
plenty of arguments to suggest that we don't need to destroy the welfare state
and close old peoples’ homes. To the extent that government debt demands
reduction, at all, from cutting Trident to dumping subsidies for nuclear power
and increasing tax on corporations, there are other options for fiscal prudence.

Austerity is a way of pushing down wages and instilling an ideology of
universal competition. Austerity Britain mimics the game show mentality, when
we are unemployed or struggling to feed our families, it is our fault. We
haven’t played the game well enough, we have lost, we our failures. The notiong that there are a few winners, the
number of British billionaires is sharply rising, is just the flip side.
Spending on conservation is a luxury, trees are of purely commercial value, in
this vision of our future, so Kew must be cut.Cuts for those with the least, are accompanied by increased wealth for
those with most. The lean starve so the fat can accumulate more body mass.

Richard Seymour has produced the most sophisticated guide to the politics of
austerity Britain, it is essential reading for all Green party members.
There are no simple slogans here but clear analysis of how an economic crisis
has been exploited for ideological reasons and an honest, sometimes
pessimistic, account of how we can create an alternative for the common
good. Buy it, read it, share it with your friends and, above all, use it
as a tool for change.

Conference runs from tomorrow, 5th September to Monday. Green Party membership has risen by 30% this year and there will be more members coming to conference, I think, than ever before. At least 750 at the latest count.

It may be a confusing experience for new members, so here are some thoughts.

All attending members can vote on policy, the controversial area is energy where a long paper has been submitted, amendments to reverse our long standing anti-nuclear policy, will generate controversy.

The energy paper is likely to be discussed and voted on Saturday morning.

As well as policy and organisational motions there are conference speeches from our leader Natalie Bennett and from Caroline Lucas our MP and other leading members.

Plenaries are another aspect, glad to have the Bolivian ambassador talking about climate change along with Jean Lambert MEP.

There are numerous fringe events, I am chairing one on Rojava and the crisis in the Middle East, with Kurdish and Christian representatives on sunday at 2pm.

Sunday afternoon sees hustings and a ballot for party committees.

There is lots of socialising too and emergency motions, see you all at conference!

3 Sep 2014

Miguel Abensour's 'Democracy Against the State: Marx and the Machiavellian Moment' covers a fascinating topic.

Machiavelli rather than just providing a political guidebook to evil 'The Prince' has been understood also as a republican radical. In his 'Discourses on Livy' he discusses Levy's history of ancient republican Rome, while the discourses cover some of the same ground as 'The Prince' the text from Machiavelli is about how to defend a republic. Machiavelli was a promoter of democracy, in the form of his own beloved Florence, which for a time was a democratic city state. Well Ok for Mac and the ancient Romans and ancient Greeks, plenty of people were excluded from the democratic system!

In brief Marx and Machiavelli and Spinoza were concerned with radical democracy based on the republic but democracy moves beyond the state form.

I didn't find Abensour's book very accessible but he does cover an important set of linked concepts and yes the State isn't the last word in democracy.

Again this links in with the practical pragmatic work of the Ostroms....and political pragmatism, not in the sense of how to win but how to deal with actual problems rather than setting up universal abstract values....links the Ostroms with what might be seen as a Spinoza/Marx/Machiaveilli approach.

Machiavelli examined the practical strategies of a Prince or a people defending a republic, the Ostroms rejected win/lose politics but studied the practical governance needed for a commons and practical questions around ecology and governance.

I would not start in this inter locking area by reading Abensour but he poses the relevant questions.

2 Sep 2014

Paul Dragos Aligica's new book 'Institutional Diversity and Political Economy: The Ostroms and Beyond' (Oxford University Press), fascinates me. It is full of ideas. Stimulating unusual ideas. So often I look at books and kind of think 'I know about this already', not this one.

However I would not recommend it as a first book on the Ostroms. Vincent and Elinor were unusual thinkers and its a good idea to get a feel for where they were coming from before tackling this.

Paul looks at their themes such as diversity and shows how a new generation of scholars are extending them.

Nearly every paragraph contains interesting and very important themes.

Forget the 'state versus markets' debate, the starting point here is that there are a diversity of institutional forms, even states and markets and networks would be a gross simplification.

Thinking beyond the market and the state, is radical.

The normative, theoretical and empirical embrace of diversity instead of uniformity, is another challenge.

Above all, Paul shows how the Ostrom's sought to make institutional design democratic, that we can learn more about institutions work and change them. Not a conservative acceptance nor the alternative of an opposed choice, but popular involvement in institution building, was an important theme of the Ostroms.

Commons can be managed by institutions created by commoners, and commoners don't always create tragedy....however while the Ostroms were known for their work on commons, their institutional political economy extend beyond them.

A very stimulating book indeed! Will try and work through some chapters and blog about them.

1 Sep 2014

Appeal by Co-chairman of the PYD, Mohamed Saleh Muslim, on behalf of the people in the cantons of Rojava, Qamişlo, 01.09.2014

To the international community,
To the members of the United Nations,
To all international aid organisations,

On the occasion of the World Day of Peace, I want, as someone who has
not lost his hope for peace, to address this letter to you. The purpose
of this letter is not to describe to you the tragic events that have
occurred in Syria over the past three years. However, I hereby appeal to
you to take responsibility to make an end to this tragedy: I also want
to tell you how we are trying to live up to our responsibilities.

In March 2011, the population of Syria for the first time went to the
streets to express their legitimate demands concerning the Assad regime,
and we have attempted to revolt against a system that has for decades
suppressed and tormented our population. We have driven the regime
forces from the Kurdish majority settlement areas in the north of the
country and are determined, as an ethnic group, including the young
people, the women and the men from Rojava, to shape our future ourselves
from now on. Both the regime and various Islamic groups have objections
to our decision - because they started attacking us. Against these
attacks, we have made use of ​​our legitimate right to self-defence.
There was no other choice open to us.

In the last two years, initially Islamists of the Al-Nusra front, and
later the ISIS (or the IS) have taken the leading role in the fight
against us. We have not only had to deal with Islamists from Syria or
Iraq, but with insurgents who have come, and continue to come, not only
from regions and countries such as Chechnya and Egypt, but also from
Europe or even Australia. They are organised in many countries and often
use Turkey as a transit country. We have had to counter the attacks of
these people and we have needed, and still need, to defend ourselves.

But for the people of Rojava, one thing is certain, namely that nothing
will be as it was before the outbreak of the civil war. But what will
the situation be then? To find answers to these questions, we have
developed solutions and initiated related projects. And this right to
self-determination is to us, the population of Rojava, paramount.

We have always said that we are in a revolutionary phase. Our
understanding of revolution, however, is not to do with dividing people
and groups, but concerns bringing them together. The result of this
understanding is that the revolution has resulted in Rojava with the
building of a project of Democratic Autonomy; a project in which the
Syriacs, Armenians, Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds from Rojava are all
involved and in which they participate equally. But this Democratic
Autonomy is also a project, which sees itself as part of a future
democratic and pluralist Syria. The hope for a democratic Syria, for
which the people took to the streets at the beginning of the Syrian
revolution - is today, in northern Syria, in Rojava, an issue that is
fully alive.

The structure of the Democratic Autonomy is not, as it is often
portrayed in the media, the result of a "going alone" of the PYD. More
than 50 parties and organisations involving the Syriacs, Armenians,
Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds have come into this system and participate in
it on a daily basis. In January 2014, those supporting Democratic
Autonomy have decided (with the consent of the population) on the
implementation of this model of society in the three cantons of Afrin,
Kobanê and Cizîrê and they have adopted the social contract.

Rojava currently seems the last glimmer of hope for the Syrian
revolution.. While the rest of the country is dominated by war and
violence, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people being forced to
flee from their homes, in Rojava at least many of these suffering people
from the rest of Syria, are being provided with a safe haven. This is
also a result of our conception of revolution. What happens in Rojava,
is not a "national revolution", it is the expression of the constant
insistence on the principle of the brotherhood of nations, quite
contrary to the philosophy of all of the ethnically and religiously
fuelled conflicts in the region.

But I also have to say that we have been abandoned by the international
community. We have received neither the necessary political support nor
sufficient humanitarian aid.

We currently find ourselves confronted with an even greater flow of
refugees into Rojava. For hundreds of thousands of Kurds from Sengal,
Turkmens from Tal Afar and Syriacs from Karakos have had to leave their
homes in northern Iraq. Also, they were, and are in fact still, exposed
to the attacks of the inhuman "Islamic State" organisation. Since these
groups had no self-defence units, they had, and have, little chance to
oppose their attackers. So they had (and have) no choice but to flee or
to expose themselves to the danger of being massacred.

Had the fighters of the YPG and YPJ responsible for the defense of
Rojava for two years, not hurried over the Iraqi border into Sengal,
possibly as well as thousands of Turkomans and Syriacs, 200,000 Yezidi
Kurds from the city would have not survived the advance of the IS.
They only managed this by fleeing on foot over the Sengal mountains so as to get away from the Islamists.

The YPG and YPJ succeeded in rescuing these people, despite dozens of
losses in their own ranks, by providing a flight corridor over the
mountains and down again so as to bring tens of thousands of them to
safety in Rojava.

Although Rojava looks on the map barely larger than a small,
inconspicuous spot, the social system that we are putting together in
this area currently represents the other face of this region. This
little spot on the map has again played in recent days a vital role in
that tens of thousands of people have been provided with a refuge and
offered protection from inhuman organisations such as the IS.

And we are convinced that with our system we not only give ourselves
protection and shelter but also have much to offer the hundreds of
thousands who have fled to Rojava - if it were not for this war, if the
inhuman and barbaric attacks by the IS were halted and the embargo
against Rojava were swept away. But we are currently exposed to a life
and death situation. Not a day passes without war, without reports of
new deaths, of flight and "ethnic cleansing".

We call upon the world public to finally completely break down the wall
of silence regarding this. For as long as there is silence outside Syria
and Iraq, then the murdering and killing within the two countries will
steadily increase. While possible aid is being debated in the UN, in the
EU and elsewhere, murderous groups of the IS are advancing and
destroying the lives of many more people and families. While you remain
silent, more chapters of a tragedy are being written, in which the
victims are the peoples of the Near and Middle East.

For us it is has long been far too much, that in New York, Geneva,
Brussels, London, Berlin, Paris and Istanbul, discussions do not result
in more than a show of apparent sympathy for the suffering of the
people. If you are in fact genuinely concerned about the sufferings of
the people, then we urge you to act. Together, let us help the people
who are affected by flight and expulsion. To limit the aid alone to
Iraq, stopping at the gates of Rojava, would be fatal. These artificial
boundaries have long lost any significance in the region..

And I have reported from Rojava, despite all attacks, there the
aspiration for a democratic Syria is still very much alive, as it tries
with its very limited resources to provide for tens of thousands of
people in need of protection and shelter. The German Bundestag member
Jan van Aken, who visited the region early 2014, stated that Rojava
provided a glimmer of hope in the Middle East. We share the opinion of
Mr. van Aken and are fully convinced that it is high time that the
international community recognises the autonomy of Democratic Rojava.

On behalf of the people who live in the cantons of Rojava
Co-chairman of the PYD
Mohamed Saleh Muslim
Qamişlo, 01.09.2014

The results of the Gpex elections 2014 were as follows:Party Leader: Natalie Bennett was elected 2618 Re-Open Nominations (RON): 183Party Deputy Leaders:In the first round – Amelia Womack was elected with 1598, Will Duckworth's 1108In the Second round – Shahrar Ali was elected 1314 to Will Duckworth's 1277Gpex Chair: Richard Mallender was elected 2640 to RON 101Campaigns Co-Ordinator: Howard Thorpe was elected 2546 to RON 181Elections Co-Ordinator: Judy Maciejowska was elected 2631 to RON 161External Communication Co-Ordinator: Penny Kemp/ Clare Phipps/ Matt Hawkins were elected 2586 to RON 147Management Co-Ordinator Mark Cridge was elected 2636 to RON 82International Co-Ordinator: Derek Wall was elected 1416 to Anna Clarke’s 891Trade Union Liaison Officer: Romayne Phoenix was elected 2639 to RON 94Policy Co-Ordinator: Sam Riches and Caroline Bowes were elected 1786 to Rachel Featherstone and Anna Heyman's 839Publications Co-Ordinator: Martin Collins was elected 2468 to RON 249Further information with regards to turnout figures will be published on the members website in due course.Many thanks to all those that participated in the election.Best regards,Tom HarrisElectoral Returning Officer GPEW